So I have my AC connected to a smart plug and I’m trying to figure out what would be the best way to go about automating it.
Currently, I have it set to run every hour on the hour for 20 minutes if the time is between noon and 8 p.m. Which covers the hottest part of the day.
However, what I could do is have it run every other hour instead and have a couple of night runs along with the daytime runs.
Doing it that way would eliminate most of the 16-hour period currently that exists between the ending of one day and the beginning of the next.
Edit: Also, is there an easy way to automate every other hour using the time pattern or would I manually have to set up triggers for 2am, 4am, 6am, 8am, 10am, etc. using the fixed values?
Edit 2: looks like i can use “/2” to accomplish that
Hard power cycling your AC unit is bad for it and may eventually kill it. The fan needs to run for a bit after the compressor turns off. This affects large ACs more than small ones, but it may cause damage after a while. If your AC unit has an RF remote, I’d recommend using something like a Broadlink unit to control it.
SwitchBot hub does IR and can bridge those IR devices in via Matter. I prefer that to Broadlink which may not support local control? Idk it’s been while since I’ve messed around with broadlink devices, but I would prefer matter devices in 2025.
I use Apple Home, but I assume home assistant can handle matter devices?
Unfortunately, it’s got no kind of remote at all. It’s a physical dial to turn it on to high low or fan high low and a physical dial to turn up or down the temperature setting.
That’s why I got a smart plug for it to begin with because there were times when I would fall asleep at like 10 p.m. and wake up at 3 a.m. with the damn thing still running.
It is only a 550 watt unit, but I was not aware that hard power cycling it like that would eventually hurt it. So at least thanks for that information.
Connect the dial to a stepper motor? Then you can control its position lol…
Monitor the current with the smart plug. When you want to turn it off, wait for the current to drop for a few minutes (this means the compressor is off/unloaded) then power off the outlet.
Might be an idea.
I can’t do that. Without doing it myself, the compressor will absolutely never turn off. Unless I manually flip the switch. There was another commenter below that said that it wasn’t a problem as long as you didn’t try to start it up again too quickly and I don’t so that’s all right
I’ve never seen a window AC with mechanical knobs not cycle the compressor when it hits the temperature set by its thermostat. The fan might run 24/7 but the compressor? How could it possibly regulate temperature otherwise?
Oh duh, I totally forgot about that. There is a knob to regulate the temperature, and that will kick the compressor off. Currently I just have it set to as cold as it will get and then cut power to the unit itself with the plug. It stays off for a good 40 minutes at a time, which is plenty of time to drain the pressure properly before starting up again.
It’ll be fine as long as you don’t try and start it up again within a few minutes of turning it off.
Pressure just needs to slowly bleed from the high pressure side to the low pressure side of the compressor before it starts again, so that it isn’t initially stalled against high pressure.
Okay, that’s fine. I can totally do that.
Idk how complicated the internal wiring is but maybe a solution here is a pair of shelly relays. One for the ac and one for the compressor fan. Then you could turn them on/off separately over wifi based on whatever logic you come up with.